Vista reinstall questions

MG312 · 17 Jul 2015 at 21:00

Hello to all.

I have a pc running Vista, 160Gb hard drive in 2 main partitions, C: and D: As C: was becoming cram full I moved as much as I could across to D: but after a short time C: is now full again with accumulated clutter. I have gone through it to delete everything I know I don't need, run Tune-up Utilities on a regular basis, but I guess age has caught up with this pc.

My solution I would like advice on is to reinstall windows on D: move everything of value from C: to D:, and then format C: This should give me a pc back with almost as much space as I had when I got it.

Is this possible? Will I need to enter the original OEM Windows key or will it not accept the same key? I can't find the original installation disk so will have to use an alternative Vista disk.

Any advice would be gratefully received, or if there is a more obvious solution please let me know, thanks.

Orcvader · 17 Jul 2015 at 21:06

Any Vista ISO will work. The OEM key should work fine as you're not changing any of the hardware.

Why not just resize the partitions during installation to something more reasonable, or even better, use only one partition?

MG312 · 17 Jul 2015 at 21:46

Orcvader said:
Any Vista ISO will work. The OEM key should work fine as you're not changing any of the hardware.

Why not just resize the partitions during installation to something more reasonable, or even better, use only one partition?

Thanks. Are you suggesting I do a complete fresh installation? I should also mention it is a Dell PC - someone recently told me they are fussy with OEM keys...

Dano · 17 Jul 2015 at 21:58

Back up all the data that is on D, then use macrium reflect or Disk Management (I can't recall off hand if Vista's disk management will let you do that to be honest) to remove D and extend C into the space. If you have programs installed to D you'll want to uninstall them and re install after removing the D partition.

MG312 · 17 Jul 2015 at 22:35

Thank you. I did try to extend C: but there was no option on Disk Management to do this - it was greyed out if I recall.

Orcvader · 17 Jul 2015 at 22:55

MG312 said:
Thanks. Are you suggesting I do a complete fresh installation? I should also mention it is a Dell PC - someone recently told me they are fussy with OEM keys...

Dell requires a special ISO so I guess a reinstallation will be bit of a pain.

Alternatively how about backing up all the files on the D drive, then using disk management to delete the D partition and then extending the C partition? D needs to be deleted first before the option to extend C appears.

robinbredin · 18 Jul 2015 at 12:57

Your going to need a OEM Dell Vista disc to reinstall your OS. A retail disc wont work as the Dell disc is tied to your motherboard.

KIA · 18 Jul 2015 at 13:40

I've used a Vista retail disc with an OEM key several times in the past.

Anyway, Dano's suggestion is worth a shot.

Do you have enough space to merge partitions? http://www.partition-tool.com/personal.htm

Dano · 18 Jul 2015 at 21:07

MG312 said:
Thank you. I did try to extend C: but there was no option on Disk Management to do this - it was greyed out if I recall.

It wont allow you to do it until the D partition has been deleted as there is nowhere for it to expand into. Macrium Reflect will actually allow you to adjust partition sizes of both without removing the D partition, but again, back your data up first.

MG312 · 20 Jul 2015 at 22:16

Dano said:
It wont allow you to do it until the D partition has been deleted as there is nowhere for it to expand into. Macrium Reflect will actually allow you to adjust partition sizes of both without removing the D partition, but again, back your data up first.

Thanks to all for your valuable advice and recommendations. I've not been able to get near the pc until today and it's too late to start now. Once I have a little spare time I'll get to work and report back.

Once again thanks, much appreciated